Warren Buffet

Warren Buffett

Warren Edward Buffett is known for being a famous American investor. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska on August 30, 1930. Warren was born to Leila and Howard Buffett. His father, Howard, was a stockbroker and also became a member of congress. Warren showed early signs of being entrepreneurial through being involved in various business dealings as a child. He also made his first investment in the stock market when he was just 11 years old.

In his teen years he began studying at the Wharton school of finance at University of Pennsylvania. He then went on to Columbia University to receive his master’s degree. While going to school there he met an influential value investor Benjamin Graham. Buffett was influenced by him greatly. After graduating he asked Graham to work for his company for free, but Graham turned him down. After this great disappointed he returned home.

When returning home Buffett took a spot at his father’s investing company. Shortly after working he turned his head to a girl by the name of Susie Thompson. The two were married in the summer of 1952. Shortly after their marriage their daughter Susie was born. During this time he began teaching night classes at the University of Omaha to make extra money. After his rough patch he received a phone call from Benjamin Graham inviting him to work. This had been the opportunity Buffett was waiting for.

Buffett now spent his days analyzing S&P reports, and looking for investment opportunities. It was during this time Buffett and Graham realized the difference in their philosophies. Although this problem occurred the two managed to overcome it temporarily. During 1950-1956 Buffett built up his personal capital to 140,000. With his money he began to set his sights back to Omaha.

On May 1, 1956 Warren rounded up seven partners raising close to 100,000 dollars and opened Buffett Associates. Before the end of the year the company became worth over 300,000 dollars. By this time in his life he had three children, a beautiful wife, and a new house. The next few years of the partner ship earned around 251.0%. By 1962 the partnership had a capital of 7.2 million. This partnership continued to grow over the new decade.

Ten years after founding the Buffett Associates the assets were up more than 1,156%. Warren’s personal stake was worth a cool 7 million. In may 1969 he liquidated the partnership informing his partners that he was unable to find bargains in the current market. Buffett’s intentions were to keep his 29% of the company, but his intentions weren’t revealed. On May 10, 1965, after accumulating 49% of the common stock, Warren named himself Director. Terrible management had run the company nearly into the ground. After this the company continued doing well and Buffett appointed someone else to head the company. In the coming years Buffett’s value rose immensely.

In the late sixties and early seventies Warren invested in several companies which paid off. A company by the name of See’s candy became a great investment. He bought the company for 25 million. The chocolate company came to be known as the best investment he ever made. Benjamin Graham died in the early seventies leaving Buffett with millions. Later on in the year Susan left Warren, although still remained married to him.

By the late '70s his reputation had grown to the point that the rumor Warren Buffett was buying a stock was enough to shoot its price up 10%. Berkshire Hathaway's stock was trading at more than $290 a share, and Buffett's personal wealth was almost $140 million. This promoted him to start investing into his personal life. After the seventies the company grew increasing in value. The only bump in the road began in 1987. When this period in time was over Buffett began investing in coke like an addict. By 1989 the company was trading at more than 8,000 dollars a share. Within the next ten years he grew to be worth ten times that amount.

During the 90s the stock would reach 80,000 dollars a share. The shares froze after this and he was accused of losing